“I Urge”


Image credit

As far as our relationship to the government is concerned, the apostle Paul gave this appeal to make praying for them our priority.
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior... (1 Timothy 2:1-3, ESV)
Note that he said, “I urge”. It’s an exhortation or an encouragement. It’s not in the command or imperative form. But that doesn’t mean however that obedience to pray for the government is something optional. According to a Bible reference, the Greek word for “urge” is “an authoritative apostolic plea—more than a request, but less than a command.” We disobey God when we fail to pray for them.
Image credit

That also means we should pray for the our leaders (“all who are in high positions,” v. 2a) whether we voted for them or not and whether we agree with what they are doing or not. We are to pray for them willingly and not grudgingly.

 The noun form of the Greek word for “urge” is used as one of the names of the Holy Spirit. So, praying for our country is one of the indicators that the Spirit is working in and through us and our church.

The purpose why we are to pray is so “that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” (v. 2b)
Paul was greatly aware of the deteriorating political atmosphere. Thus he urged prayer for the salvation of all men, but especially rulers, so that the stable, noninterfering environment of previous days might be recovered. ... Times of political and social upheaval are excellent times in which to die for Christ, but hard times in which to live for Him.1
Given our “deteriorating political atmosphere” nowadays, the more that we should pray for our government. One of the things we are to pray for our government leaders is their salvation. Paul said that doing so, “it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (vv. 3b-4)
Image credit

Prayer Points for the Philippines
Pray that this election would lead to even greater opportunities to preach the Gospel, and that the freedom of the church will be respected, honored, and protected. Pray for the church, praying that the church of the Lord Jesus Christ would be strengthened in the truth, grounded in the faith, and empowered for witness and ministry.2 

 [1] A. Duane Litfin, “1 Timothy” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, Eds. John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck and Dallas Theological Seminary (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983, 1985), 734. Emphasis added.

[2] Adapted from Albert Mohler’s “Ten Things to Pray for America on Election Day,” Christianity.Com, retrieved from http://www.christianity.com/. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

God Knows Judas Not Pay

In the National Geographic Magazine (May 2006 issue), in its cover story, The Judas Gospel , Professor Eliane Pagels of Princeton University claimed that the so-called gospel of Judas “ changes the history of early Christianity. ” Even UP Professor Randy David took notice of the Judas Gospel: “Strictly from a sociological standpoint, I think the discovery of the Gospel of Judas makes Christianity a far more interesting religion than what centuries of metaphysical theology has made of it.” (A Gospel for the Postmodern, Phil. Daily Inquirer, April 16, 2006) That’s why I spoke in our Young Pro Fellowship a few days ago on God Knows Judas Not Pay (A Biblical Response on the Judas Gospel). I believe opportunities like this hype on the Judas Gospel or the Da Vinci Code opens a door for us to share the true Gospel. For those who did not attend last Thursday, let me share briefly why we reject the Judas gospel. I came up with the acronym J-U-D-A-S. J udas was portrayed as a traitor in the Bibl
Read more

“Ubus-ubos Biyaya, Bukas Nakatunganga”

Image
That’s what my mother always told us when we were still kids. (Translation: “You spend everything today, you will have nothing tomorrow.” ) Image source: So, What's New ? Dionie did just that. Last April 2008, he won PHP14,125,032 in the Lotto 6/42 draw. Excitedly, he “lived the life of a millionaire, something he had been longing to experience. He lived in a P4-million house in a posh subdivision, drove around in a sports utility vehicle [which he bought the very same day he claimed his prize] , and gave goodwill money, ranging P1,000 to P 850,000, to relatives and friends. He also gambled daily, womanized, and went on regular drinking sprees.” (Source: Manila Bulletin ) He estimated that he squandered a minimum of P100,000 almost every day. He also lent money even to people he did not really know. “I just gave them and told them not to pay me back.” (Ibid) His bank had to issue him a special card so he can withdraw huge amounts of money quickly from the automated teller m
Read more

“Don’t drink the Kool-Aid!”

Image
Forty years ago, this expression became known as a description of blind obedience.   Source: Los Angeles Times On November 18, 1978, members of Peoples Temple, a cult group in Guyana, drank Kool-Aid drink laced with cyanide to commit a mass suicide “at the behest of their charismatic but paranoid leader, Jim Jones”. [1] According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica , “The death toll exceeded 900, including some 300 age 17 and under, making the incident one of the largest mass deaths in American history. ”  [2]  What made those people submit to such atrocity? According to Stella Morabito, a senior contributor to The Federalist online magazine, Peoples Temple is “Exhibit A… [of]  the dangers of the cult mindset or how vulnerable all people are to cult tactics.”  [3] She pointed out that, Coercive persuasion has immense power to shape and twist the human mind.  …[Jones’] utopian preaching of a humane world in which all lived happily in harmony resonated with the
Read more